The long awaited World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is well underway.
The redesigned poker tournament was originally an invitational event, launched in 2004 and won by Annie Duke, with a winner takes all format and featuring ten of poker’s biggest names. The competition was expanded the following year and it seemed as though the Tournament of Champions could develop into a high profile event.
It didn’t turnout that way though, as the tournament’s organisers, Harrah’s Entertainment, decided to slim the number of entrants down again for 2006 and then in 2007, the tournament was scrapped entirely.
This year though, the WSOP Tournament of Champions has been resurrected and given a more modern, reality TV style twist. Voting took place in the months prior to the event, by members of the general public, on which poker players they would like to see take part in the competition. Only winners of a World Series of Poker bracelet were eligible and the twenty highest scoring players qualified for a seat. Two “sponsor exemptions”, the reigning WSOP and WSOPE champions and the three winners of the event in its previous formats would fill the other seven spots.
The event carries a $1 million prize fund, with the top three places being paid. After the first day’s play, Erik Seidel led the hunt for the prize money, holding a narrow chip lead from Johnny Chan.
Phil Ivey was busted late in the day by Chris “Jesus” Ferguson after the two got the chips to the middle with K-K and Q-Q, with Jesus performing a miracle by hitting a third Q on the turn to bust Ivey.
Mike “The Mouth” Matusow led the way at the conclusion of the second day’s poker, with 12,500 more chips than second placed Huck Seed. Matusow won the Tournament of Champions in 2005 and has looked dangerous from the beginning this time round, never being too far from the chip lead.
Sharing a table with Phil Hellmuth for some time, Matusow was constantly needling the eleven times WSOP winner, to great comedy effect. After much foul-mouthed muttering by Hellmuth, “The Mouth” took to loudly repeating the tirades to the crowd, before eventually being chastised by officials for swearing, who were greeted with jeers by Matusow fans. After being granted permission to replace a certain swearword with the letter “F”, the rail gave a loud cheer and the needling continued.
Stay tuned for more WSOP updates.
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